Kingdom Principle: The King rules and reigns over the Kingdom

Key Words: Choice & Change, Will and Worship

Key Verses:

Exodus 32:1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

Matthew 22:8-9 Then he (the king) said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.  Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’

Psalm 106:3 Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.

Exodus 32:1-14 Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23 Philippians 4:1-9 Matthew 22:1-14

C.S. Lewis in Narnia’s the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, captures the essence of this post, “Aslan is good, but Aslan is not safe”  later in Prince Caspian we learn “Aslan never does anything the same way twice”.  Aslan the Lion, is the King over the Kingdom of Narina. The passages above present for us a challenge – Do we want a King that rules and reigns over His Kingdom or do we want a King that is safe and secure?

Much of our world today is defined by what is safe, and safety has far out weighed most interactions in life. For our kids to no longer be able to swing or play tag at school recess for safety concerns shows how restrictive safety can be. Our King does not focus on safety as a motivation for our well-being. In fact the King focuses more on taking risks and presenting us with challenges that can develop us rather than to prevent us from failure. For the Kingdom of God is the place where God rules and reigns, and in His rule and reign challenge, change and crisis are the teaching blocks of life. In these passages we are confronted with challenging truths about God’s rule and reign  1. The King has chosen people. 2. The King can choose to destroy his people 3. The King can change his mind.

For the King to rule and reign over the Kingdom, the King must be in total control, but that control can be seen in many ways. If I have total control over what my kids eat, and then I decide to let them choose whatever they want to eat while they are at home. Who is in control? Digging deeper, if I allow them to choose whatever they want to eat at home, but I decide what food is in the cupboard for them to choose from – I have complete reign over the food, and I have ruled to let them choose. Now if the child says – I want to bring a new food sample in to the house – is it their choice to do so – No. It is not their house and they have complete choice of the food they eat in the house, but if they go outside to eat, then they have ventured outside the rule and reign of the household. This is the path that leads to destruction.

Questions for us to consider: Where is it clear in your life, that God is the King? In this place God, rules and reigns over the outcomes and decisions of your life. This rule and reign is not God is blindly determining your path, rather God is bringing choices before you and supplying you with “cupboards” full of options to choose from. On the other hand – Where is it clear that God is not the King? In these areas – you find yourself looking over your shoulder as you make decisions, wondering how things will work out and if someone is watching in judgment. In the Kingdom of God – there is no fear of judgment.

The King invites all to his Kingdom, his chosen ones are clothed with his righteousness and their thoughts are as Paul directs in the Philippians passage. In short – our role in the Kingdom is to serve the King, in our service our life becomes an act of worship. This worship is not based on actions, rather it is based in submission and obedience. For you further refection: Where in your life is a place/area that you would rather not consider God going there with you? Is there any area of your life, that if God wanted to “remove it” your answer would be unequivocally NO!?  and Consider when you worship; is worship for you defined to a place or time? If so, it is that time/ place that sets the boundaries of God’s Kingdom for you…